What Could've Been
by SoaringHellButterfly
Summary: Years ago, a little girl went to the park to let loose the sadness that had built up from being teased. At the same time a little boy was trying to survive another day. All they had wanted... was just one friend. A 'What-If' fic. NaruSaku. One-Shot.


Yo! Holy shit has it really been two years since I posted anything? Wow, either I've been incredibly lazy, or real life freakin' abducted me and is just now giving me back. Either way I apologize to all my loyal readers who have awaited my return. But I hope to finally finish most of my incomplete stories now, it's been bothering me a lot lately.

Now, to the people who are unfamiliar with me, I like to be known as HellFly. Normally I'm a Bleach fanfiction writer, but months back I started this because of my sudden obsession with NaruSaku, I didn't finish it until today. I just had a sudden burst of inspiration to write. Anyway, first ever Naruto fic, feel free to review. Just a one-shot about what could've happened if Naruto and Sakura met as children. I've actually considered creating a doujin based on this fic, but I'm not sure I can. Enjoy this anyway!

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><p><em><strong>What Could've Been<strong>_

The sound of rapid footsteps echoed through the alleyways, along with heaving breaths and pants. But the owner of the sounds couldn't stop, he had to keep moving, else risk another few bruises on his body.

The boy quickly ducked through another alley, hearing the sound of shouting behind him getting further and further away. Yet he pushed on, climbing over a wooden fence and running towards the street ahead.

"Where'd you go, you little monster! I'll get you for stealing from my stand!" An angry voice yelled behind him, beyond the fence. The boy paused at the mouth of the alley, looking carefully into the street to see if there was anyone there. He didn't have much time to be sure, because much to his fright, the man chasing him was attempting to climb the fence.

"There you are, demon! When I get my hands on you, I'll cut yours off so that you can't steal from me again! Just you wait, I'll catch you, you son of a-!" The man barked, trying to lift his overweight self over the fence again. The boy didn't wait to see if the man could somehow get his fat self up any further than six inches off the ground, he turned and darted out and into the empty street, looking for another place to hide.

He could feel his heart pounding in his chest, his lungs burning from running so long, and his limbs felt weak from excessive use and hunger. He had no adrenaline left to fuel him, he had to find a place to hide and rest or else he'd collapse and the man would catch him.

He shuddered to think of the consequences of _that_ happening.

Looking around, he couldn't find a single place suitable to hide him, the street was bare of anything and anyone. He felt his stomach growl, and he clutched at it with a whimper, beginning to feel sick from having no food in almost a day.

The boy wandered down the empty street, stumbling every so often and feeling a cold sweat break out on his skin. He was starting to get dizzy, feeling light-headed and out of breath, feeling it get harder and harder to keep going. But he had to, his survival instinct urged him to.

The sound of something heavy slamming against wood alerted the boy. It sounded like his pursuer was trying to break down the fence in his angry attempts to catch him. The boy quickly sped his pace a little more, desperate to put more distance between him and the man.

He came to a fork, and saw one path led to another set of roads, while the other led to a park-like area. The pathway formed a circle around a group of bushes and large tree in the center, and there were benches in the inner circle facing him and trees in the background around the area. But the boy paid more attention to the safe haven the bushes would provide.

He quickly dashed over to the closest bush and parted an opening before slipping inside. He fixed the bush back to cover him, but made sure there was a small opening for him to peek out of. The boy tried to quiet his breathing, as he waited for the man to come by and leave.

A couple of tense minutes later the large man trotted into view, sparing a glance into the park before continuing down the other way, shouting curses and threats as he went on with his search for the boy.

He let out a sigh of relief, thankful another beating was avoided this time. He waited, though, in case the man made a u-turn and came back this way.

When it finally became obvious that he was gone, the boy carefully crawled out of the bush on his hands and knees. He reached up and picked out twigs and leaves from his blond spiky hair, before sitting on his rear and reaching into his pocket.

He pulled out an apple, the reason the man was chasing him. The boy had only wanted to buy one little apple, but the man had refused to "do business with demons" and forced the kid away. But the boy was so hungry, when the man wasn't looking he took an apple and left the money on the stand before running off. But the man somehow caught wind of it, hence the chase through Konoha.

But it didn't matter now, the boy thought, he had his dinner for the night and that's all the mattered. He polished the apple against the chest of his slightly dirty shirt, smiling a little in anticipation. Then he lifted it to his mouth and bit into it.

He contained the moan of relief as he chewed and swallowed the juicy bite of fruit. He wasn't lucky enough to get fresh food very often, most of what he ate was leftovers, and if he was lucky he could get a cup of instant ramen from the grocer. Sometimes the Third Hokage would treat him to meals when he wasn't busy. With no parents to provide for him, though, he was forced to do whatever he could to eat, even if it meant stealing.

The sun was starting to reach it's position to set for the evening, so the boy decided to hurry and finish his meal before leaving for home. As he took another bite, a quiet sound reached his ears. He instantly recognized it, knowing exactly what it was because he himself made it a lot.

It was the sound of crying.

He turned his head in both directions, but seeing no one but him here. Putting the apple down, the boy stood up, wiping dirt from his pants as he looked around again for the source of crying. Well, by now crying had turned into full on sobs and whimpers.

The boy took a few steps onto the pathway, and walked along the circular road until he could see the other side of the bushes that made the centerpiece in the park, he stopped himself short. He could finally see who it was making all the noise.

A little girl, no older than himself, crying her eyes out.

He almost felt like he was looking at himself, the way she sat with her knees pulled tightly to her chest and her little hands bunched into fists, one fist rubbing furiously at her tears. He couldn't remember how many times he sat like that...

Her body was trembling with every sob that escaped her mouth, and the sound of her cries hurt the boy immensely. He wondered why she was so sad, and if it'd be okay to approach her. He had always tried to make friends, but it never lasted more than a day, at the most. Their parents would always come and immediately put distance between him and their child, telling them not to go near him anymore.

He wondered if it was okay to risk losing another potential friend... He knew it was probably pointless, but as he looked at the shaking pink-haired girl just twelve feet away from him, he had a feeling maybe it was worth it.

It was a hesitant step at first, and he felt nervous all of a sudden, but he managed to walk up to the girl with bright pink hair. She didn't notice him, too distraught and hidden in her knees to see the blonde boy standing in front of her.

"Hey..." He said softly. "Why're you here all by yourself?"

She jumped at the sound of his voice, and she lifted her head, seeing the boy for the first time. He was bent forward a little, his hands supported on his knees as he looked at her with concerned blue eyes.

She hiccuped a couple of times, looking up at him with teary green eyes. He was slightly taken aback when he saw those eyes, they were such a lovely shade of green, and their beauty wasn't lessened even with the presence of tears in them.

"Who... Who are you?" Her voice trembled, and she sniffled as she wiped at her eye again. The boy in front of her smiled.

"Me? Oh, I'm Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage! What's your name?" He smiled the widest grin she had ever seen, and for some reason it made her feel slightly better. It made her want to smile too but she couldn't because of the tears. She sniffed one more before mumbling her name.

"Huh? I couldn't hear you, what's your name?" She scowled a little, before raising her voice.

"My name is Haruno Sakura!"

"That's better! Nice to meet you Sakura-chan! It's a pretty name, you shouldn't be so shy to give it. Now, why're you sitting here crying all alone?" Naruto asked, and he didn't miss the way her nose scrunched and her eyes watered. Whatever she was thinking, it was the reason for her tears.

"E-Everyone makes fun of me... Because of m-my forehead..." Sakura closed her eyes tightly, feeling more sobs rising in her throat as she thought about all the kids in her neighborhood that would laugh at her and call her names like "Forehead-Girl" and "Wide-Brow". She got picked on so much she felt no confidence in her appearance anymore, and tried her hardest to hide under her bangs.

Her hopes that kids would stop teasing her if her forehead was no longer visible... were crushed. In fact, it only made everything worse.

"Hmm? Your forehead? Is there something wrong with it?" Without waiting for an answer, Naruto lifted a hand from his knee and brought it to her forehead, gently lifting her bangs up so he could get a look at it. Sakura stiffened, fearing that he too would laugh at the largeness and make mean comments like the other kids.

He did laugh.

Sakura felt a fresh round of tears escape her eyes. She shouldn't have gotten her hopes up. She shouldn't have believed that maybe... Just maybe!... She would finally make a friend that wouldn't make fun of her forehead. That would maybe say something nice like-

"I don't really see the big deal. It's big, yeah, but it doesn't seem that unnatural. In fact, I think it's cute! It's so wide and charming, kinda makes me wanna kiss it." Sakura looked up in shock, her green eyes wide and staring at the grinning blonde standing over her. She was definitely not expecting him to say that, and she blushed a bit as she went over his last sentence in her head.

"Y-You mean... You don't think it's too big? Or that it's so wide there's no way anyone can miss it if they threw something at it? Or that-" Sakura ceased her rambling when Naruto's finger placed itself on her lips.

Once again Sakura was shocked at this strange boy's actions. He not only felt and saw her forehead for himself, but he complimented it and thought it was cute!

"I don't think there's anything wrong with it. Like I said, I think it's adorable. It's part of you, and everyone should like who they are, even if others don't." She noticed the brightness in his eyes dimmed slightly as he said that, and she wondered why.

But she admitted that he was right. Even if others made fun of her forehead, so much so she grew to resent it, it was something she couldn't control.

"You shouldn't hide it, you know." Naruto said gently. "I think you should show those mean kids that you don't care what they think. You should show it off! Like... Maybe if you..." Naruto reached down and gently smoothed his hands over her short hair. Sakura sat still, curious about what he was doing.

Naruto ran his fingers over her forehead, spreading her bangs apart at the center and holding them in place as he looked at the result. He smiled big and Sakura blushed slightly.

"There! See? If you put your bangs like this, it not only shows your forehead in a nice way, but it makes your whole face look nicer! Maybe you should put a ribbon in your hair, that would make you the cutest girl in the world! Not that you aren't already... I mean, you're cute as you are, I just mean that-" Sakura stopped listening as Naruto began nervously ranting, blush on his cheeks.

And then he saw it. Something he was hoping to see since the moment she lifted her eyes to him for the first time.

Sakura looked up at him and smiled brightly.

Her smile made him stop rambling, a deeper blush blooming on his cheeks. Naruto had never seen anything more beautiful in his life. Granted, he was only six, but he was sure there was never going to be a sight to top this. And right then, Naruto decided. Yes, it had been worth the risk to approach her. That smile she had on her face was worth everything. Even if he never saw her after today...

"Thank you... Naruto." Sakura said shyly, still smiling the brightest smile she had made in a long time. And it was all thanks to a boy she had never met before, who had only said a few kind words to her when no one else had. Said what she needed to hear when she felt at her lowest.

Naruto reached up and nervously scratched the back of his neck, laughing. "Heh... You're welcome, Sakura-chan." Naruto said, returning her smile.

"So..." Sakura's soft voice alerted him, and made him pay attention to her again. "Does this mean... You'll be my friend?" Naruto's eyes widened, and his mouth dropped open a little. He stared at the girl, wondering if she was joking, or if this was all some sort of dream that he cooked up. Maybe he fell asleep while he was waiting in that bush...

When he didn't respond, Sakura lowered her head in regret, misunderstanding his shock for rejection. "I-I understand if you don't want to be friends..." She mumbled sadly. "I didn't mean to be so-"

"Do you..." Naruto stopped her, his head lowered and his bangs hiding his eyes. Sakura tilted her head, wondering what made him like this all of a sudden.

"Do you really mean it?... That you want to be friends with me?" Sakura couldn't see his eyes, but she could see a shimmer of liquid shining under his bangs. She felt her eyes widen slightly when she realized that he was crying.

Sakura stood up, taking a small step forward. Naruto didn't move or lift his head, doubt still clouding his head. He'd never had a friend in his life, he wanted them - Kami knew he did so badly - but he never had the chance to have any. He wondered if maybe this time... He'd be able to actually keep one.

A small hand grabbed his, and he looked up in surprise, the tears in his eyes flying. But Sakura only smiled softly, her hand holding his tightly, and her eyes shimmering with reassurance.

"I want to be friends. So how about it?" She tilted her head, her smile widening and her cheeks blushing a little. "Friends, Naruto?"

Naruto stared at her for a few seconds, his eyes wide and his heart pounding. It all seemed like a dream, like an impossible dream that Naruto feared he would wake up from any moment now, and be disappointed to find it hadn't come true.

But as he felt Sakura squeeze his hand gently, he knew that it was definitely no dream. This was real, and he felt so many emotions running through him at that moment. Raging happiness being the most forward one of all.

Squeezing her hand back, Naruto used it to pull his new friend into a big hug and grinned the widest smile he had ever made in his life.

"Friends, Sakura-chan! Dattebayo!"

S/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/H\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\B

The next day, despite all his fears that he wouldn't, Naruto got to see Sakura again.

And to his surprise, and excitement, Sakura arrived with not only her bangs framing her face, but a pretty red ribbon tied in her hair.

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><p>And that's the story! Hope you enjoyed it, you know you wanna hit that Review button. *Grin* I don't exactly know where this came from, it was just a random thought I had. Somewhat along the lines of 'What would've happened it Naruto found Sakura that day instead of Ino?" It was such an appealing idea that I started writing it, but never finished it. Until now that is. I'm glad I did, it makes me feel like I just reinstated myself back to FF. Net. Expect more from me! Keep reading and reviewing! Until next time! HellFly is out.<p>

LATERZ! SoaringHellButterfly.


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